478 women were killed and 412 were injured in violent incidents throughout Myanmar during 2024, according to an Information Factsheet released by the Burmese Women's Union (BWU) on 20 January 2025.
Of those, airstrikes killed 257 women and injured 191 whilst artillery fire killed 142 women and injured 152.
The number of women casualties has risen in the last year. Explaining this rise Daw Yin Myo Hlaing, joint secretary 2 of the BWU said to NMG: “Lately, as many men avoided conscription, the majority left in many villages and communities were women and the elderly. As the junta's air attacks and artillery shelling targeted these areas, the number of women casualties grew. This rise in casualties was primarily due to the junta increasingly targeting civilian areas.”
Mi Saung, a coordinator of the Mon State Humanitarian Network (MSHN), condemned the junta's escalating use of airstrikes on civilian areas and villages that are not military targets.
She said: “The junta often harbours resentment toward areas it has lost to resistance forces, as well as those with a strong resistance presence, and proceeds to destroy them. It sends a clear message of threat, implying that communities supporting the resistance will be wiped out. This is an effort to create division between the resistance forces and the people. I’m not sure the junta even realises that airstrikes on civilian areas are a violation of human rights.”
Other causes of women’s deaths recorded in the BWU factsheet included: 65 killed and 10 injured in extrajudicial killings; seven killed and 42 injured by landmines; six killed and 12 injured in conflict related sexual violence. One woman was also executed by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and five women were injured when they were tortured whilst in prison.
The BWU Factsheet also broke down the deaths by region.
During 2024 the area with the most women killed in violent incidents was Sagaing Region where 109 women were killed. The next most lethal area was Shan State where 92 women were killed. These were followed by Rakhine State and Mandalay Region which saw 83 and 67 women killed respectively.
